1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a performance apparatus that causes sounding elements such as reeds to generate sound by means of a solenoid coil or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
A performance apparatus such as a music box type has hitherto been known which causes sounding elements such as reeds to generate sound by means of a driving device such as a solenoid coil, which acts upon or plucks the sounding elements, without using a barrel drum.
For example, a performance apparatus of this type has been proposed by the assignee of the present application (Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-079132). This performance apparatus is comprised of a rotating member, which serves as a sounding element driving member and is provided with a plurality of driving nails on its outer periphery, and a swing arm, which serves as an actuator and is provided with a flat coil. The flat coil is disposed in a magnetic field that is generated. When the flat coil is energized, the swing arm is rotated. When a free end of the swing arm drives part of the driving nails of the rotating member to thus rotate the rotating member, the other driving nails are caused to pluck reeds to generate sound.
Further, another performance apparatus of this type has been proposed by the assignee of the present application, according to which part of driving nails of a rotating member as a sounding element driving member is engaged with and driven by a groove formed in a plunger as an actuator, which is driven to make reciprocating motions by a solenoid coil, to thereby pluck reeds in the same manner as in the first-mentioned performance apparatus. Alternatively, the solenoid coil may be used to reciprocate the plunger without using the rotating member, thus causing a driving part fixedly provided on the plunger to directly pluck the reeds.
It is very important for a performance apparatus such as a music box to suppress mechanical noise so as to generate clear and pure sound.
However, the above described performance apparatuses cause a plurality of component elements to generate sound in cooperation with each other, and is thus encountered with the problem that mechanical noises are generated at many parts due to engagement or contact between the component elements.
For example, a mechanical noise is generated due to an impact caused by engagement or contact between the sounding element driving member such as the rotating member and the actuator. Further, if it is configured such that a reciprocating member such as the swing arm or the plunger comes into contact with a stopper to define the end of the operating stroke of the reciprocating member, a mechanical noise which is not negligible is generated due to the contact between the reciprocating member and the stopper. Further, if the next sounding operation is performed before vibrations of sounding elements such as reeds caused by the previous sounding operation are not completely damped, a mechanical noise can be generated due to chattering between a driving part and sounding elements.